Turning pro could mean Detroit City FC games in winter weather

Detroit City FC bested Dakota Fusion, 5-1, in the opening round of the NPSL Midwest Region Playoffs on Saturday night in front of 6,672 fans at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck.

North American Soccer League moving to August-June format

If Detroit City jumps to NASL, it could mean winter matches

Bad weather depresses gate revenue

Monday's decision by the North American Soccer League to switch to an August-June schedule potentially complicates semi-pro Detroit City FC's plan to transition to a professional league.

NASL said in a statement Monday that because of its ongoing legal battle over its status with American soccer's governing body, it will move to a season that begins in August and finishes the following June — matching the international soccer community's season. The means if DCFC moves to NASL, it could play games in cold weather.

Detroit City, which has acknowledge talks with NASL as a possible landing site this year, has played six seasons on a spring-summer schedule in the National Premier Soccer League.

Any factors that could depress attendance is a worry for teams because they rely primarily on ticket sales and game-day revenue in absence of the mega-dollar TV contracts enjoyed by major pro sports leagues.

Detroit City's 2017 schedule of exhibition and league matches through the playoffs lasted from April through August. It averaged 5,398 fans per match, its best gate ever, at its home pitch, Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck.

The proposed NASL season would run Aug. 11 through June 1, 2019. That more closely aligns with many leagues in Europe that soccer insiders say American leagues should match to allow better player movement among leagues.

The NASL announcement made no mention of a winter break, which is common practice in leagues with a similar schedule format.

DCFC CEO Sean Mann noted in an emailed statement to Crain's that the team isn't an NASL member and he's not yet familiar with the details of the league's schedule switch. He did offer some speculation of how it could play out.

"I would suspect considerations are given to teams north of a certain latitude," he said. "And in reality right now, the Major League Soccer schedule runs from first of March with playoffs ending in mid-December. I suspect this wouldn't be far off from that but with an extended break in the middle of the season."

NASL has five teams — Miami, Indianapolis, New York Cosmos, Puerto Rico and Jacksonville, Fla. — and will add two California teams (San Diego and Fullerton) this year. The league lost its North Carolina club to the rival USL and its San Francisco team folded, raising questions about NASL's future.

In its current format, NASL averages nearly 6,000 fans per game and its split-season format is 16 spring and 16 fall games.

NASL said it's making the schedule switch because of its ongoing legal feud with the governing body of American soccer, the same situation that has delayed DCFC's move to the pro ranks.

"Due to the decision of the United States Soccer Federation to revoke the NASL's Division II sanctioning, the NASL will be unable to operate the 2018 Spring Season," the league said.

The Chicago-based federation, which sanctions American soccer leagues, granted the NASL and Tampa-based rival United Soccer League provisional Division II status in January 2017. It later rejected NASL's application to remain a Division II league, meaning it would drop to Division III, the lowest level of U.S. pro soccer above amateur status. The next level below that, the fourth tier of the soccer pyramid, is where Detroit City FC plays in the semi-pro National Premier Soccer League.

Division II leagues have to meet criteria such as having 12 teams. The league has said it's in talks with teams that may join it, including DCFC.

The 30-team USL, which is closely tied to Major League Soccer and is considered the more financially stable league, is expected to retain its Division II status and has plan for its own Division II league. DCFC has said it's not in talks to move to the USL.

The NASL on Sept. 19 filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Chicago-based U.S. Soccer Federation that alleges it conspired with Major League Soccer and its marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing, along with the USL, to limit competition and drive the NASL out of business.

A federal judge in November denied the NASL's injunction request to preserve its Division II status, and the league subsequently filed an appeal that's ongoing.

The other option for Detroit City FC is the new National Independent Soccer Association, a Division III league that's being formed by investors Peter Wilt, a longtime soccer executive, and attorney and consultant Jack Cummins. It said in December it has three confirmed markets (Chattanooga, Connecticut and Miami) and is in talks with others, including DCFC.

Wherever DCFC ends up, it will need a deep-pocket principal owner.

USSF requires a Division II team to have a controlling owner with a $20 million minimum net worth and Division III teams to have a principal owner with a $10 million net worth. None of Detroit City's owners meet that requirement, and Mann said they have had talks with a number of undisclosed potential investors to satisfy ownership requirements to turn pro.